1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the modeling and management of enterprise architecture data, such as XML schemas and other content models.
2. Description of the Related Art
The W3C XML Schema Definition Language is an XML language for describing and constraining the content of XML documents. XML Schema was published in 2001 as a Recommendation from the W3C, and it has become widely adopted. A schema defines a class of XML documents. One of the most powerful aspects of the XML Schema standard is the ability to construct complex schemas of multiple, smaller schemas. This modular approach to schema design promotes the development of schema components upon which organizations can standardize to increase consistency and reduce redundant development efforts. Despite these advantages, the process of managing complex schemas that consist of multiple interdependent files can be confusing and error-prone, especially in team environments where multiple users manage schema development.
It is known in the prior art to provide graphical schema editors, however, such tools typically only provide a view of actual schema components within the workspace local to the editor itself. Schema repositories, which are designed to facilitate document versioning and centralization, are also known in the art. These repositories, however, do not provide techniques that enable workgroups to model and/or manage the schemas across the enterprise, and they do not provide users with the ability to view and manage schema relationships or to construct complex schemas from smaller building blocks.
The present invention addresses the deficiencies in the art.